As some of you may remember this past spring, I had responded to a post that was started regarding some stringer issues
I was having that was made public before I really knew what I was dealing with. Well, now that I have dealt with the
problem, and things have worked out well, I will explain the situation so that in the future, maybe my experience may
come in handy for others.
I am the original owner of a 1999 2520 MVSC. I have meticulously maintained the boat to the point that would make Megabyte proud
. I am the poster child for being "anal" with the boat. About 3 years ago I found a small brown stain on the floor of the bilge (reference photo). For those very familiar with your bilge layout, you will know exactly where
this area is in your bilge. At first the stain was minimal, and I mistakenly shrugged it off as rust from something below deck.
Well, when I pulled the cover back in March '08 and opened up the bilge hatch, it had gotten considerably worse so I figured I had better investigate. The area is not very accessible so my only option (I did not have a mirror handy) was to reach in there with my cell phone, turn it around and start taking blind photos. I then emailed them back to my
computer and took a look at them when I got home. It was clear that the fiberglass on the edge of this stringer had split open, exposing wood. My guess is water got in there, freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw, pop, there you go.
It's 5 years out of warranty so I did not really make it an issue with the manufacturer but I did forward the photos.
I had some glass shops look at it before I splashed her and all suggested that I should not sacrifice the season, fish it and deal with it at the end of the year. The opinion was that it would not get any worse but that I should seal it up as best as I could. Moisture meters indicated that water had wicked forward from the opening approximately 12 inches.
The boat was still on blocks and the bilge was dry so I put on some rubber gloves, filled my hand with 5200 and smeared
the stuff all over the opening.
I used it all season, during which the stringer did not bleed at all anymore. Over the course of the summer I had done some research and decided on a fiberglass shop that came HIGHLY recommended by a member on here as well as nearly one dozen people that I had talked with over the summer. Every one of them did not hesitate to tell me this boat had to go to Youngs Fiberglass in Marmora NJ.
http://youngsfiberglass.com/Home_Page.php
Check out some of the before and after photos of their work on other boats on their website.
Well, she is all well again and I am very happy with the outcome. As it turns out, Youngs has done some warranty work for Parker in the past. I had the boat hauled down there at the end of the year. They took a core sample and found that the stringer was indeed damp, but showed no signs of rot and evidence of dampness roughly 12" deep. He also mentioned that he was impressed with the amount of glass that Parker uses on their stringers. He told me that he was 99% sure that the entry point was indeed the edge of this stringer. The only way to be 100% sure was to start cutting the floor up which he did not feel was necessary.
He thought I'd be wasting my money to go looking for something that may not exist. I thought that was pretty honest of them, heck, he could have spent my money and started cutting the floor. The glass was removed from the damp area, the wood was dried out, then re-glassed and I am good to go. As you can see from the photos, I also
had him build up the fiberglass in this same area on the port stringer just in case. I have not taken pictures of the final repair only because I haven't been down there to pick it up yet.
If you are in this area and you need a honest repair shop that does excellent glass work, it's worth the trip to head down to Youngs. I hope this explains the issue clearly and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Good fishing in '09 !
I was having that was made public before I really knew what I was dealing with. Well, now that I have dealt with the
problem, and things have worked out well, I will explain the situation so that in the future, maybe my experience may
come in handy for others.
I am the original owner of a 1999 2520 MVSC. I have meticulously maintained the boat to the point that would make Megabyte proud
. I am the poster child for being "anal" with the boat. About 3 years ago I found a small brown stain on the floor of the bilge (reference photo). For those very familiar with your bilge layout, you will know exactly where this area is in your bilge. At first the stain was minimal, and I mistakenly shrugged it off as rust from something below deck.
Well, when I pulled the cover back in March '08 and opened up the bilge hatch, it had gotten considerably worse so I figured I had better investigate. The area is not very accessible so my only option (I did not have a mirror handy) was to reach in there with my cell phone, turn it around and start taking blind photos. I then emailed them back to my
computer and took a look at them when I got home. It was clear that the fiberglass on the edge of this stringer had split open, exposing wood. My guess is water got in there, freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw, pop, there you go.
It's 5 years out of warranty so I did not really make it an issue with the manufacturer but I did forward the photos.
I had some glass shops look at it before I splashed her and all suggested that I should not sacrifice the season, fish it and deal with it at the end of the year. The opinion was that it would not get any worse but that I should seal it up as best as I could. Moisture meters indicated that water had wicked forward from the opening approximately 12 inches.
The boat was still on blocks and the bilge was dry so I put on some rubber gloves, filled my hand with 5200 and smeared
the stuff all over the opening.
I used it all season, during which the stringer did not bleed at all anymore. Over the course of the summer I had done some research and decided on a fiberglass shop that came HIGHLY recommended by a member on here as well as nearly one dozen people that I had talked with over the summer. Every one of them did not hesitate to tell me this boat had to go to Youngs Fiberglass in Marmora NJ.
http://youngsfiberglass.com/Home_Page.php
Check out some of the before and after photos of their work on other boats on their website.
Well, she is all well again and I am very happy with the outcome. As it turns out, Youngs has done some warranty work for Parker in the past. I had the boat hauled down there at the end of the year. They took a core sample and found that the stringer was indeed damp, but showed no signs of rot and evidence of dampness roughly 12" deep. He also mentioned that he was impressed with the amount of glass that Parker uses on their stringers. He told me that he was 99% sure that the entry point was indeed the edge of this stringer. The only way to be 100% sure was to start cutting the floor up which he did not feel was necessary.
He thought I'd be wasting my money to go looking for something that may not exist. I thought that was pretty honest of them, heck, he could have spent my money and started cutting the floor. The glass was removed from the damp area, the wood was dried out, then re-glassed and I am good to go. As you can see from the photos, I also
had him build up the fiberglass in this same area on the port stringer just in case. I have not taken pictures of the final repair only because I haven't been down there to pick it up yet.
If you are in this area and you need a honest repair shop that does excellent glass work, it's worth the trip to head down to Youngs. I hope this explains the issue clearly and if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.
Good fishing in '09 !
